


Morning Routine

by Quiet_Shadow



Series: To Unite the Schools [2]
Category: Ranma 1/2
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, F/M, Family Dynamics, Gen, Locked Curse, May/December Romance, Ranma-chan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-11
Updated: 2014-12-11
Packaged: 2018-03-01 02:18:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2755892
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quiet_Shadow/pseuds/Quiet_Shadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU. Kasumi ponders about the Saotomes' arrival and the change they are bringing as she watches her Father train. Wherever Ranma Saotome ends up as their step-mother or perhaps as a fiancé, she certainly brought something out of Soun...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Morning Routine

Block. Parry. Left fist forward. Right leg up to give a swift kick. Guard up. A step back. Left leg kicking. Block. Right fist forward. Block. Parry. Left fist forward… 

Soun Tendô went through the notions carefully, completing and repeating the katas for the twentieth time in a row, finally stopping with a final kick to an imaginary adversary, nodding to himself with a sense of satisfaction. His movements were growing more fluids and faster everyday. Oh, he was far from being at his best yet, but the results of his new daily schedule were starting to show. Not bad, he decided, for someone who had only started to retrain seriously since barely two weeks.

“Father? Do you want some tea? I prepared you a cup,” he heard Kasumi call from the door of the dojo, and he turned to smile pleasantly at his eldest daughter.

“Thank you Kasumi,” he nodded as he sat down and let his eldest come closer with a tray. He bowed in thank and grabbed the cup, inhaling deeply the powerful, soothing smell of the hot beverage before savoring a first sip. He sighed happily. “Delicious as ever. Thank you, daughter,” he added again before sipping the rest of the cup.

“Is your training processing as you wish, Father?” the brown-haired young lady asked with a serene smile as she accepted the compliment with a single nod, looking around to see the various discarded equipment.

How curious it was! She glanced at her Father again as he drank, taking in the way his gi was soaked with sweat and the way he had pulled his hairs in a ponytail to fight unhindered. That reminded her of a time long gone, when Mother had still been around and little Kasumi, giggling, was trying to follow the moves of the strong, indestructive, smiling giant that was her Daddy, Mommy standing by the side smiling and encouraging her, baby Nabiki fast asleep in her arms. That pulled up more memories, of her very young self doing kata moves with other little girls and little boys her age, all of them following the lead of their Sensei, who walked among them and corrected their position, gently telling them what they were doing wrong and how to correct it, demonstrating it himself.

That was… a long time ago, Kasumi had to acknowledge. No matter what everyone seemed to think, all Tendo daughters had learned the Arts at some point, though only Akane, the youngest, had continued to stick to it. Nabiki had dropped it even before Mother’s untimely departure from this world, though she still watched and encouraged practice back then. As for Kasumi, the eldest readily admitted she hadn’t been that good a martial artist, though she had known how to defend herself -- and still knew, although her moves might have been quite rusty. She still knew how to use the family’s traditional spear, though; that much she had made her Father teach her as she grew up, though she didn’t think her sisters knew it.

Perhaps, had things been different, she would have keep up the training -- but as it was, her family had needed her more to handle the house, so she had let go of the idea of training altogether.

Poor Father, she mused. After Mother’s death, he had never been the same again. He had ever been very emotional, but suddenly it had grew worse, to the point that for the longest time, he hadn’t been able to teach anything to anyone anymore without breaking in tears. Students had started to leave the dojo, until there were only a handful of students left, most of which were older teenagers who soon left to go study and didn’t have time anymore for training on a regular basis. In the end, the dojo was pretty much deserted by all except by Akane, to whom Father gave irregular lessons at first. Then his overemotional state had started to decrease, and although he became more… stable and become more involved in Akane’s training, he never returned to give regular lessons to whole classes. His heart hadn’t been into it anymore, as he had once plainly said. Instead, he started to rent the dojo for various social gatherings, which brought in some money, and lived off from some good investments his late wife had made.

Aoi Tendo might have been a beautiful, kind lady to whom Kasumi had often been compared. But when it came to finances? Nabiki had obviously taken it from someone, and it definitely wasn’t her Father.

Anyway, their Father didn’t train regularly or had much use of the dojo anymore, and hadn’t had for years now. So it came as a surprise, barely one week after the arrival of Mr Saotome and his son -- well, daughter now -- he started to come in and train almost every day, even if not for long.

It made Kasumi feel both elated and strangely wary at the same time, for some reason, and she wasn’t sure why. So she watched, and waited, and tried to think about how to talk with her Father over his brusque change of attitude and habits. She had the sneaky feeling she knew the reason he did so, though. It wasn’t so hard to guess.

It had to do with Ranma Saotome.

The mustached forty-something years old nodded. “As a matter of fact, it does, Kasumi. I’m happy to see I’m not as rusty as I had feared. This old man still has some good rests,” he joked with a big, booming laugh. Kasumi laughed softly behind her hand, in a very lady-like manner that made Soun look at her fondly. “You’re becoming as beautiful as your Mother each passing day, Kasumi,” he remarked.

“Oh my, I’m not,” the brunet defended herself hastily.

“Yes you are,” Soun insisted, looking very serious. “My beloved Aoi gave me three marvellous, beautiful daughters that I feel humbled by, thinking they’re mine. I wish she was able to see you today,” he added with a sigh.

“I wish she was too, Father,” Kasumi whispered, heart sinking for a moment.

The two of them sunk into silence as Soun finished sipping his cup, Kasumi staying patiently at his side to get back the cup once it was finished. It wasn’t like she needed to go anywhere specific anyway. She had already brought in groceries for lunch and dinner, and the house had been cleaned already, especially the guest room where panda fur seemed to have gotten everywhere. She repressed a twinge of annoyance at Mr Saotome for not being more careful with his transformation.

Then again, as he had explained, cold water seemed to just track him like it tracked Ranma. Although, in Ranma’s case, it didn’t change anything to his… her current appearance.

Ranma Saotome was… a puzzle, she decided. She didn’t know what to make of the redhead exactly. Everything that had happened that last month had been so… so sudden!

First, their Father was telling them one of them was going to have a fiancé to honor an agreement between him and an old friend. Said friend then came to their house -- or rather, a giant panda came to their house, not bringing the expected son, but a young girl who was Akane’s age. Then it turned out the panda was really their Father’s old friend, who had been cursed to change into a panda whenever he was in contact with cold water, and that the ‘girl’ really was his son Ranma. Logically, Ranma should have been able to transform back into a boy with hot water, like his own Father did. But here came the unexpected news: Ranma, for all intent and purpose, was ‘locked’ as a girl.

The boy… girl… insisted there was a cure and that he would find him and change back, something Kasumi could only hope for. But Mr Saotome, looking grim, had stated that for Ranma, no such cure existed -- or if it did, nobody had found it yet. He had loudly said he had consulted an expert over the matter, whose judgment was apparently final. After sixteen years of growing up a boy, Ranma was now a girl, and needed to learn how to be one from now on.

There were, Kasumi guessed, more to Mr Saotome’s tale than what he had been willing to share, but the next thing their respective Fathers had announced had left them in so much shock neither she or the inquisitive, sly Nabiki had been able to pursue the matter.

Ranma was a girl, wherever he… she admitted it or not. Obviously, she couldn’t marry a Tendo daughter -- unless one of them changed into a male, something Genma had stated was quite possible with the cursed waters of Jusenkyo. That little tidbit had been answered by a kick from his own son/daughter, a bokken hit from Akane, Kasumi and Nabiki’s stonier or angrier looks and Soun’s very own ‘Demon Head’ aura. To which a beaten up Genma had tried to casually laugh, saying he had been kidding.

He hadn’t been kidding, though, when he suggested that, to honor the pledge to unite both families, Ranma the girl should marry the only free male Tendo -- Soun Tendo himself.

To say it had shocked the three daughters of the house would be an understatement -- not to mention the look on his poor, gender-confused and confusing child, who obviously hadn’t been in the know. Their Father, in turn, had seemed to take it in stride -- which made Kasumi thinks they might have had repeated that conversation before dropping such a bombshell on them all.

Akane and Ranma had been the loudest opponents to such a possibility -- followed by Nabiki. Kasumi… hadn’t said anything, just looked at everyone with big eyes and a look of deep confusion.

No decision had been taken that night, and everyone had gone to bed with heavy things on his or her mind.

She didn’t know exactly what happened afterward -- the guest room, although on the second floor with the three Tendo daughters’ room, was at the other end of the corridor and the sound didn’t carry that far -- not to mention Kasumi was a polite young lady and didn’t listen to the door, but she guessed, from the occasional rise of voices they could perceive, that Mr Saotome and his son/daughter had had a long… conversation. Then, in the middle of the night, she had awaken to hear two series of footsteps heading downstairs. She had fallen asleep before she heard them get up again, of course, but she guessed that both Saotome had got down to talk with her own Father.

And the next morning at breakfast, the announcement had been finalized… 

_“I know this is very sudden and that the situation is… weird to say the least. However, we must all remind ourselves that the family’s honor is at stake -- something I won’t stand to see blemished. I trust my daughters will share my point of view over the matter?” A glance in their direction, a pointed look that spoke against any arguing, stopping Akane and Nabiki cold in their tracks. A look Soun Tendo rarely got. “Uniting the Tendo and the Saotome’s branches of Anything Goes is an old dream Genma and I have shared since our days of wandering the country to perfect our Art. Had it been only a vague spoken promise… perhaps we could have let it slide aside, and join the school in a different way. But this matter was officially set on paper, in a written contract at the insistence and with the blessing of your late Mother.” Akane had squirmed. Nabiki had looked more blank than usual. Kasumi had murmured a ‘Oh My’ before falling utterly quiet._

_“Had you had a brother… had Ranma had a sister… There would have been more possibilities open to us all. Sadly, there isn’t, and honor wants us to honor the contract signed between our two families. Ranma, with a girl body, is unable to become a husband -- just like, as a male, he wouldn’t be eligible to become a wife. The… peculiar situation we find ourselves with has make me think, and I’m proud to say we reached a compromise that, I hope, will be honored by all parties. Keep in mind that nothing is official yet, as we’re still hammering out details and need another person’s input before sealing the deal._

_“My daughters, Ranma Saotome will officially be my fiancée from now on -- and so until or unless his Mother objects._

_“I won’t stand for any arguing here; my decision is final. What Ranma and what Genma seems to think over the matter aside, it is my own conclusion that the search of a cure might take long -- perhaps even a lifetime -- and may yield little results. In all likeness, Ranma is now completely a woman, at least physically, and will not be able to regain his normal body. However, if a cure truly can be found, then it’s be unfair of me to pressure young Ranma to proceed with this arrangement, as he is a man deep down, despite what his… her body might currently be like. And there’s the matter of uniting the schools to consider. I have spoken with both Ranma and his… her father, and we reached an agreement._

_“The Saotomes will be staying here from now on. Ranma will attend school with you, my daughters, as both him and Genma agreed that his education had been amiss in the last year or so, while they trained in China. We should also get a visit from Saotome’s wife very soon, as she has yet to be made aware of the arrangement, and should be able to have a say in it before we officialize things._

_“In the meanwhile, Ranma and his Father will both search for a cure -- already, Genma promised me to get in contact with the ‘specialist’ they met, who hopefully will be able to help them and provide them with possible lead in Japan or find something in China. Should a cure truly be found, and Ranma able to regain a male body, then I’ll drop off all pretense of marriage and the engagement contract will be passed down to one of you, as it should normally have be. Should a cure truly be unobtainable… Then we will process with the wedding, at a later date. Most likely after Ranma and you finished high school, though the exact date remain to be decided -- and will only be so if, upon his… her 18th birthday, no cure have been found. But, as I said, it isn’t set in stone yet and will only be so once Mrs Saotome is made aware of our tentative arrangement._

_“I won’t ask you to treat Ranma as a fiancé, or as a… future step-mother yet. I know it would be asking too much from everyone at this point. However, as the Saotomes are guests in our house, I count on you to be on your best behavior and to be polite and considerate. As I said, matters will be looked into more thoroughly and a final arrangement done only once Mrs Saotome is here. In the meanwhile, be… cordial to each other, if you please.”_

That had been three weeks ago. They had yet to see Mrs Saotome arrives, for apparently she hadn’t received the letters Mr Saotome had sent her. The panda-turning man, accompanied by Kasumi’s Father, had even gone to her house to find her absent. A helpful neighbor had let them know that Mrs Saotome had left to visit relatives and wouldn’t be back for another two weeks or so. More letters as well as the Tendos’ address had been left in her mailbox, and for now, the matter was let to rest.

And in the meanwhile… well, the ambiance at home was rather strange to say the least. Kasumi herself followed her usual routine, which had been little impacted by the arrival of their guests -- except she had to clean a little harder and to cook for two more persons, but she could deal with it. The other members of the household didn’t seem to have such an easy time, though.

Akane and Ranma seemed to be unable to see things eye-to-eye, with her younger sister readily and loudly claiming Ranma was a pervert. Nabiki was… looking like one of her schemes hadn’t gone the way she wanted, which was rare. Ranma was being very moody and tense when she wasn’t cocky and taunting. Mr Saotome spent a lot of time outside, working part-time as a cleaning aide at Doctor Tofu’s clinic -- and giving her his meager salary to ‘help pay for the board and food’; Kasumi had the vague feeling that, had Soun not looked at him with his ‘Demon Head’, he would never had.

Kasumi had never thought her Father had it in him to threaten a guest, less alone a friend. However, given the bombshell Mr Saotome had dropped on them all… Part of her Father’s new… ‘backbone’, so to speak, came from that. Kasumi knew her Father; she had realized very early he never intended to remarry, wanting to stay faithful to his late wife. Or at least, he had intended to. And now, there was a distinct possibility that, to honor an honor pledge, he would have to. Of course it would make him react.

Her Father, Kasumi knew, was very serious individual. Or rather, he strongly believes in fulfilling his responsibilities. Should he have a new wife -- which wasn’t done yet but was a very possible outcome, Kasumi didn’t blind herself to that -- then he would need to support her as well as his daughters, not to mention any possible children he could have from his second wedding. Which, when all was said and done, meant that Soun Tendo needed more incomes in order to support his family.

So far, they had lived well enough from Mrs Tendo’s life insurance and from the investments she had made before her death, which Kasumi, Nabiki and Soun regularly checked over. Mr Tendo also brought in some money from the occasional ‘missions’ given to him by the neighborhood committee, and of course there was the money coming from the renting of the dojo. The Tendo weren’t rich by any mean, but they weren’t poor either, and they had managed to balance their finances correctly for the last few years.

But now… things were changing, weren’t they? That meant, Kasumi had guessed early on, that no matter what happened, they needed to rethink and reorganize their budget. She was certain Nabiki had also drew the odds -- though she hadn’t shared them and had probably thought of her own interests before those of the rest of the family. And of course, Father too must have calculated what they’d need.

They now had two boarders, which meant more charges -- though thank to Daddy’s battle aura and Mr Saotome’s unwillingness to cross him, it didn’t impact the family as much as if they had been here for free. The problem was self-solving so far. But there were others to consider.

Kasumi had dropped the ideas to pursue her studies after high school in order to take care of the family, but her sisters? Nabiki at the very least would go on to University, and Kasumi thought Akane would do so as well. Already, Kasumi was saving up part of their allotment to pay for their higher education. Had things remained that way -- just the four of them -- then there wouldn’t have been any problem. However, if they got a stepmother… and perhaps, and the very thought was a bit dizzying, even for her, half-siblings… then they would also need to be correctly provided for, as honor wanted it.

Kasumi wasn’t certain how she felt over it. On one hand, Soun’s announcement he would marry a female Ranma to join the schools felt like a betrayal of their Mother. On the other, her Father had clearly stated he would be doing so for honor’s sake, and that if there was another solution, he’d take it.

Poor Daddy. That must have been so hard to decide!

And… poor Ranma, she guessed. The poor girl, even if she used and was technically a boy, certainly held little desire to become the future step-mother of three girls who were her age or a few years older than her. Hopefully, the boy-turned-girl would find a cure to his curse and be able to become Akane or Nabiki’s fiancé instead. Kasumi herself wasn’t very interested -- mainly because she prefered older men. Though, if family honor wanted it… and given how much her own Father was willing to sacrifice to keep it clean… then as a dutiful daughter, she supposed she’d have to put aside her own feelings and do her duty to the family.

Oh, but those considerations could wait, could they not? After all, without Mrs Saotome’s agreement, nothing could be finalized. That let everyone time to try and figure out how to act.

In the meanwhile, Kasumi would take care of the house and of her family, like she always did, and she would rejoice to see her Father acting so much like his older self.

“Kasumi…”

Her Father’s voice startled her and she almost dropped her tray. “Yes, Father?”

A gentle, comprehensive smile was looking up at her and, for a moment, the brunet wondered if perhaps she had spoken aloud. Or perhaps it was just her Father being very perceptive of what she was feeling. “Don’t try to overthink about the situation yet, okay?”

“It’s hard not to, Daddy,” she confessed.

Soun’s smile turned into a grimace. “I know. For what it’s worth, Kasumi, I’m sorry things are taking this turn. It was supposed to be such a simple arrangement…” he sighed. “But, better not to dwell too much on the ‘what if’; it would only give us a headache,” he tried to cheer her up. “You know, Kasumi,” he added after a moment of silence. “Perhaps you should also start thinking about your future.”

Kasumi blinked. “Father?”

Soun sighed as he put down his empty cup. “What I mean to say, daughter, is that provided Mrs Saotome agrees to the engagement, then the chances are good that I’ll marry Ranma Saotome one day. No matter how loudly Ranma protest the fact, Genma is certain that his ‘informant’ is right, for reasons he doesn’t wish to disclose yet. I think he doesn’t wish to say too much before he speaks to his wife, something I accept -- though he’ll better give me some damn answers as well,” he added, grumbling, before coughing and straightening up. “Anyway, if I remarry, then it stands to reason my new wife will be taking care of the house. I know it has been your duty since your Mother’s death, Kasumi, but once there is another woman in the house, then you’ll be more free and perfectly able to follow another calling. Think about it, please,” he added, raising a hand to bar her protests. “You have sacrificed much to take care of us. All I’m asking for you, for now, is to consider what you would wish to do if you had more free time. Perhaps you’d wish to restart your studies, perhaps you’d wish to try and find a good husband,... Just think about it, Kasumi. I won’t say it’ll happen, but just in case, I’d prefer you not to be taken by surprise.”

“That’s… very considerate, Daddy,” Kasumi finally said. “I promise I’ll think about it. But, and you?” she asked curiously.

“Me?” the mustached man blinked before chuckling. “Oh, do not worry for me, daughter. I’ll be perfectly fine, no matter what you choose. I’m not doing half-bad already, aren’t I?” he added jokingly as he waved to show the equipment still lying around. “I’ve been thinking that it may be high time I try and start giving classes again,” he stated.

Kasumi beamed. So she had been right on that front. “That’s wonderful, Daddy.”

“Isn’t it? It’s high time I’m starting to do so again. I need a way to keep me sharp and healthy, after all! And,” he added jokingly again, “practicing alone or with pupils will allow me to prepare myself for that boy’s next challenge.”

“Oh, you mean that classmate of Nabiki who came barging in the other day?” Kasumi wondered aloud.

“The very same,” her Father nodded. “See, that boy seems to have the most ridiculous notion that…”

He didn’t go further before a booming voice interrupted him.

“Tendo-san!” Kasumi blinked, taking in the sight of a boy her junior dressed in a hakama, rushing toward them with a bokken in hand.

Soun winced. “And here he comes again. That will only be the fifth time in three weeks,” he muttered.

“Five?” Kasumi pondered. “I only saw him the once.”

“You weren’t home when he dropped by,” he said for the benefit of her daughter before rising up. “Listen here, my boy, I told you already that nothing is certain for now, but that Ranma is…”

“Do not think that because you are the Father of the fair Akane Tendo and of the unmaidenly Nabiki Tendo, I will stand for you to abuse your age and authority over the healthily beautiful Pigtailed Girl! To think that such a beautiful flower, innocent and pure, would be forced to tie her dawning maidenhood to your lustful old man perversity is impossible! The heavens themselves would weep to see such an union consecrated! Me, Tatewaki Kuno, age 17, challenge you for the hand of the beautiful Pigtailed Girl! Then I’ll challenge you for the hand of the fair Akane Tendo!” he said, bringing his bokken before him, ready to strike.

“I’m starting to really wonder if that boy is deaf… And if that’s what Akane has to deal with everyday, I understand now why her dislike of men in general seem to run so deep,” the older male mumbled. “Young man, would you please knock it off and go back to school where you belong? I certainly won’t allow you to date any of my daughters, and Ranma’s hand isn’t mine to hand…”

“Silence! You are rumoured to be a fair and good man, Tendo-san, but obviously, some kind of foul sorcerer ensnared you in his web of enchantments in order to bend your will to his own and change you into a perverted old man, lusting after the Pigtailed Girl! But never fear! Me, Tatewaki Kuno, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High, will fight you to free you from this enchantment, so you will release the Pigtailed Goddess and your fair daughter!”

“Of all the stupid things I’ve heard…”

Kasumi blinked again, let what she had heard sink in, then looked at her Father who was busy pinching his nose, obviously fighting a rush of annoyance. There was only one thing coming to her mind at this very moment, only one thing she could say:

“Oh my…”

**Author's Note:**

> And here's a second chapter -- though it was written third on my list, just after the wedding night. Yus, you read it right. I wrote the wedding night, after being prompted/begged/brided by a friend who will recognize herself. I don't follow a precise timeline, but I thought this one was nice to give some focus on Soun and Kasumi first.  
> Ranma and Soun's lemon time might be the next thing I post though, so stay tuned ;)


End file.
